I wouldn’t mind some of the ground floor units facing the park. You will have unobstructed city views, there’s no public walkways directly in front of your unit and the park is like an extension of your front yard (a dream if you have a dog), though here these units only have a small porch as their exterior space, not very useable.

it will be very difficult to convert these residential units to commercial space, as changes to the declaration, etc. are required, even if you happen to convince the owners to sell their units for this purpose, but the condo corp will most likely not have the funds to buyout even just a unit or two.

There are some retail units on the ground floor across the street at Novus (below Altea fitness club), though most are vacant at the moment. The retail spaces at Novus could be challenging as they primarily serve the residents on that street at a convenience level and definitely not considered a retail destination as they lack the street/public presence, not on a major thoroughfare, and it’s not an ideal place to drive or take transit to. It may attract some pedestrians walking from the park to Liberty Village, but sadly they will probably be the mundane convenience store, dry cleaner, nail salon, pot shop or bank you typically see at many ground floor condo retail spaces.

The 2nd floor commercial space at Novus was originally supposed to be a Highland Farms and that entire floor (and the ground floor lobby) was specifically designed for them. Makes you wonder why they backed out, as the closest grocery store is the Metro deep in Liberty Village.
 
neuhaus said:
The 2nd floor commercial space at Novus was originally supposed to be a Highland Farms and that entire floor (and the ground floor lobby) was specifically designed for them. Makes you wonder why they backed out, as the closest grocery store is the Metro deep in Liberty Village.
Click to expand...

I honestly don't know the story on that one; but I do wonder if the failure of Coppa's (Market 63) shook them at all. (Coppa's was once part of Highland Farms, but the two brothers split the company up with one keeping the HF banner and the other rebranding his locations as Coppa's.)

I don't know what terms the brothers are on these days; but I could see one looking at the other's losses and rethinking entering the downtown marketplace.

* for clarity, the split happened back in 2013; but Market63 opened in February '19.

****

Worth adding, a couple of other major supermarket intended spaces went unoccupied when letters of intent didn't materialize or leases were cancelled around this time.

I can say, there is renewed interest by the majors (and others) in new DT supermarkets, and who knows this spot may yet see one.

I know there's active competition for a couple of spots with rent actually being bid up.
 
It was known that Highland Farms wasn't going to open here before the wider building project was completed. I'm not sure what kind of 'custom space' was contemplated for them (normally that's all just TI unless there's something like a connection between floors or some other base building issue), but none of that work was ever undertaken.
 
ProjectEnd said:
It was known that Highland Farms wasn't going to open here before the wider building project was completed. I'm not sure what kind of 'custom space' was contemplated for them (normally that's all just TI unless there's something like a connection between floors or some other base building issue), but none of that work was ever undertaken.
Click to expand...

In general the 'special' needs of most grocers are the exact locations and capacity of drainage, including floor drains; and ventilation; though they also need a pretty juicy power hook up for all the freezers. Of course, space can be re-fit for that; but I have to say, a simple fast food place (in/near downtown) which was under construction for the longest time.........I mean an insane amount of time, needed similar work done in its refit, and all the x-rays of floor and trying to find where the existing drains were to tie-into and to avoid hitting a ton of rebar......was more than a royal pain.

So I can see a major retailer trying to get those base systems laid out to their liking, particularly anything that has to be laid infloor.
 
I was at Coppa's yesterday evening and the place was deader than a morgue. Seems like that location at least consistently lost foot traffic in recent years.
 
Undead said:
I was at Coppa's yesterday evening and the place was deader than a morgue. Seems like that location at least consistently lost foot traffic in recent years.
Click to expand...

You mean you were at the former Coppa's (One York)? Or at another Coppa's location?
 
ProjectEnd said:
It was known that Highland Farms wasn't going to open here before the wider building project was completed. I'm not sure what kind of 'custom space' was contemplated for them (normally that's all just TI unless there's something like a connection between floors or some other base building issue), but none of that work was ever undertaken.
Click to expand...
it had to do mostly with column spacing to coordinate with their aisle and department spacing (not easy when there are two condo towers sitting above with their own structural requirements), and areas for signage on the exterior of the building which affected what was glazed and what was solid, but there were also a host of other conditions that were meant to be accommodated.
 
Last edited:
Undead said:
The Steeles Dufferin one.
Click to expand...

Sounds like maybe one brother is not so cut out for the business. There were serious operational issues with the One York store, and I wasn't impressed at all w/the Scarborough one. But I'll leave that there lest we sidetrack the thread too much!
 
I can't help posting this one from far away. Taken yesterday:

DSC_0496.JPG
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not sure if there's a thread for this, but plopping here as it's been discussed -- this from a 2023 capital budget briefing doc:

For Transportation Initiatives, projected spending of $0.5 million is anticipated for year end. Expenses related to Ordnance Park (10 Ordnance) and the South Stanley Park Extension (801 Wellington Street) (both components of the Garrison Crossing) was delayed due to ongoing negotiations (with the threat of expropriation) with Metrolinx. The Ontario Line will pass underneath a portion of the park and planning for the electrification of the Lakeshore East Line GO Expansion also had to be considered. The Ordnance Park project is jointly funded under the Waterfront Revitalization Initiative and PF&R budgets. Public engagement is underway with design work to be advanced in 2023; staff anticipate that construction will begin in 2024.
 
Not my photo.

Hopefully one of these links work.
Very cool pictures on their instagram account. Babs and JoJo
Check it out.
www.instagram.com

TRAVEL | PHOTO | VIDEO on Instagram: "🇵🇹 Segunda tentativa a fotografar o pôr-do-sol aqui 🌇 A primeira não correu bem, estava uma ventania danada e a capa do tripé voou para os carris 🙄 Contactámos a Peak Design, a marca do tripé, e eles foram impec

136 Likes, 11 Comments - TRAVEL | PHOTO | VIDEO (@babs.jojo) on Instagram: "🇵🇹 Segunda tentativa a fotografar o pôr-do-sol aqui 🌇 A primeira não correu bem, estava uma ventania danada e a capa do tripé voou para os carris 🙄 Contactámos a Peak Design, a marca do tripé, e eles foram impecáveis e...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

www.facebook.com

National Geographic-Portugal | Longa exposição :)

Longa exposição :) 📷 Fujifilm X-T4 ⭕ Fujinon 16-55 f/2.8 ⚙️ 0.5 s sec | f/8 | ISO 160 | 32.1 mm 🌆 4 s sec | f/8 | ISO 160 🚄 50 s sec | f/22 | ISO 160 📍 Toronto, ON, Canada
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
48D77FDD-8DF9-4CB8-A37C-20ADBC8DD5FD.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top